Thursday, July 19, 2012

Pieces from an unknown artist



Up in the mountains
Artist Alexander Tsuyoshi Barata




The Spine
Alexander Tsutoshi Barata



Red haired girl

Supporting local artist of the Monterey County
Photograph by Marta Flinn



Alexander has been doing art since he was a young boy.  Doctors had him scribble on pieces of paper to help him through rough patches of his life. And from the scribbling it became long hours sitting outside sketching, painting, anything he could find to make art. Ever since then he has always found art to be the resting place for his mind. Where he can loose himself just like any other artist and create beautiful pieces for others to see. He isn't very well known but it doesn't matter to him because he enjoys art for the fun, relaxation and therapy.


Art is everywhere around us, only some of us choose to see it,
only some of us take in the beauty
and only some of us can show it
never the less art is life
life is art.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

A Morning at the MST






No matter what age we are, we can still love, we can find joy, and we can live

Photograph by Marta Flinn





Sitting at the bus stop on a foggy-sunny morning in downtown Monterey. What a wacky way to start off the day. The bench is icy cold, and there is a woman dusting the streets. A man humming a tune to the music from his device. I was putting my fake mask on for the day. As I reached for the black stick to put on my eyes, I heard a man mumble something. I looked around and found an older gentlemen watching me put on my makeup. As soon as he noticed that I had made eye contact he approached me. My head was running with millions of thoughts. Should I move, say I'm waiting for someone or just walk away. But instead I just sit there, and say, "Goodmorning."

The man says, "Good morning you look great,"I was about to say something rude. I'm defiantly not a morning person. But I catch myself. I was being ignorant. This man has a disability. But my anger from being disturbed in the morning had me blind. He began to go on about how he was making his way to Ryan Ranch to visit a friend. I saw little stars in his eyes, he than asked me, "I really love her." A smirk appeared on my face.

The random moments in life. When you talk to a random stranger. You know you may never see them again. There was a connection. A connection that we are all human. We may choose not to socialize with one another but it is healthy for us to be with other people. I began to wonder how often this man talked to some one. We all want some one to listen to our story. And I listened to his.

He then went on and told me a childhood story about this woman that he loves. He began to talk about a time when they were walking downtown. It was a foggy day, no people on the streets. You could hear the Christmas music echoing. She looked beautiful in her jump suit, with her black, long, curly hair. He couldn't help but remember her smell, which was sweet like sugar cookies. He reached for her hand but missed the first time. She realized what he was trying to do, and slipped her fingers through his. They walked side by side, enjoying a the foggy day. They made their way to the wharf. The place that they love the most.

They sat on the bench where they watched thousands of people pass by over the years. Where they tried to figure out what people were saying in different languages. Those hot sunny days where they grabbed ice cream and just looked out into the ocean. The laughs they had, and the deep conversation that would go on for hours. That's where he knelled down on one knee and asked her hand in marriage.

He than tells me, "I can't believe I have such an amazing woman in my life." At that moment I got shivers through out my body. "No one has ever looked at me the way she does. Who would ever love a man like me? She does. She is my one and only." She must be an incredible woman, most of us wouldn't even give a man like this a chance. A man who is different than all the others. But this woman did. She opened her heart. The connection that these two share was incredible. As I watched his man shed a little tear. 

A bus pulled up, "That's my bus, cant be late. I always go at the same time. She is waiting for me there," he said in a happy voice. I watched this man walk into the distance. He turns around before he enters the bus and says, "See you Monday, hope you have a great day at work." I found myself getting emotional which I never do. I finally caught on.

He sat down on the bus, with purple and yellow flowers on one hand, and a picture in the other. He was going to visit his wife, where she lays in peace.









Monday, July 2, 2012

Community the change over the years

Photography by Marta Flinn

breath, and smell what you have been missing

The past few weeks I have been taking an English course emphasizing on community. When you think of community, what is the first thing that pops into your head? For me its always this one scene from the Sandlot, on 4th of July.There is this big block celebration, everyone is enjoying the food and fireworks. Well the adults converse with one another and the children run around the street. Is this how it is now? The few neighborhoods that I have lived in the past few years are not close to what I have seen in the Sandlot. No one knows each other, not by face or name.

I few times I attempted to say good morning to my neighbors, but in return there was only silence. Just until today did one of my neighbors actually ask me how my day was. It maybe because they are new to our block. Sometimes we like to know that there is at least on friendly person in the world, so I responded to her question. Now this got me thinking about how we are all becoming so isolated with our own lives. Which brings me to my next point, something that I learned today. We have three different places that we associate ourselves too. The first place is our own home where ever that maybe, our second place is our workplace or school, and the last is a third place, where there are people that we don't know, or just places that we go with friends to have a good time or relax.

I have been noticing many of the third places that I used to hang out as a child are no longer there. I used to go to the blowing alley, batting cages, and this gnarly monkey bar park, but these places are no longer there. I just keep wondering, is it because so many of us spend so much time at work, school, and on our personal devices as to why these third places are going out of business slowly. We can pretty much do anything online. Just like I am doing right now, posting my own opinion and community. Why would we ever have to leave our own homes.

Truth is, the internet is great for many things. But it can never replace the benifit and feeling that we get hanging around the people that we love.

The next few days I am going to be doing some research on third places.I will try to see what is going on in them, what the environment is like, who goes there, ect.

So for now I'll just leave you with this. Just say hi to some one that you don't know or just smile. I know that when some one smiles at me, it makes me feel much better, and makes my day a bit brighter than it was before. Until later!


We all come from different parts of the world, we have different points of views, we may not be the same color, or from the same background. But we do have a few things in common. We all have compassion, we love, we express emotions, and we are all humans. No one is less of a human than another. I have started this blog just to speak my mind, just like so many others have. It doesn't mean that my opinion is correct or wrong. It's just the way that I perceive the world. These are my words, my story as a young adult growing in the 21st century. 

"If you don't know where you are going you'll end up someplace else"
-Yogi Berra- 

Ending up somewhere else isn't so horrible, we find out what we like and what we dislike in life. Our ideas, emotions, and morals expand as well as our knowledge of the world around us and the surroundings of our own communities. 

Photography by Marta Flinn
fallow the road to the beauty that lays in front of your eyes